February 2014 – Europe2.eu

Ukraine’s last hope?

The agreement now on the table might be the last chance to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine and also to avoid a situation devolving into a civil war. The main question now is how much the agreement actually will be worth. The current regime in Ukraine has not shown itself to be very trustworthy when it comes to earlier agreements and at the same time the opposition, or at least its more hardcore elements, will most likely have difficulty accepting an agreement that leaves the hated president in power for maybe up to the end of the year.

It is also ominous that the special envoy of Russia unlike his EU counterparts from France, Poland and Germany apparently haven’t signed the agreement as was first intended. The Russian statement that they too want to see a stable Ukraine might not mean in their mind the same thing as it does for the EU.

(This text is also posted at Tonakai World.)

Copenhagen Airport plans future growth

Copenhagen Airport (Københavns Lufthavn) plans to grow greatly during the coming years, having set a goal of increasing the yearly capacity from the current 24 million passengers to 40 million in 25 years time. This will according to the airport company be possible due to positioning itself even harder as a major hub in northern Europe. The expansion is however dependent on that cities and regions both in the whole cross-border Øresund region of Denmark and Sweden manage to attract businesses and tourists in such a scale that it becomes economically viable, something that is not impossible, given the current growth, but requires continued efforts in order to not lose momentum.

Source: Politiken.dk

Malbork – A crusader castle at the Baltic Sea coast

Situated at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in Poland is one of the largest medieval castles of northern Europe. Malbork, or Marienburg as it is known in German, once served as the headquarters for the Teutonic Order whose crusader knights once ruled a large swath of of land along the southeastern and eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea.

Neuschwanstein Castle

The Bavarian picturesque Neuschwanstein Castle is the epitome of a fairy tale castle. Built on the orders of king Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century, it was already at its construction a anachronism in its recalling of a romanticized medieval era.